All fellow blondes know the eternal struggle of maintaining the perfect blonde tone. Give it a few weeks after having the hair dyed and the colour starts to transform into an almost golden orange shade. Of course, to prevent this you should use a purple shampoo regularly to cancel out any unwanted colours. Freshly bleached blonde hair is almost always going to look yellowy/orangey in shade. To achieve the desired blonde shade you want (be it platinum, silver, ashy, caramel etc.), your hairdresser must tone it to remove the yellow/orange shades.

I'm quite an impatient and frugal person when it comes to my hair. Plus I am also one of those people who have said "yaaa I really like it" to the hairdresser after doing my hair and go home crying "I look so ugly!! I HATE IT!". So I have very low expectations of hairdressers and their capability to make my hair look the way I want it. (I'm not saying all the hairdressers I've been to have left me disappointed, that is defiantly not the case. I've walked out of the salon with a smile on my face too :D) Thats when I decided to take matters into my own hands, at least that way when I fail I'm not too disappointed as I haven't spent too much money and I took the risk so thats what I get.

BEFORE

AFTER

So years of messing around with my hair have gone by and it is time for my hair's annual 'freshen-up'. I adore ashy blonde hair and thats the colour I always strive to achieve. So I decided to tone my hair myself with a professional toner. Previously I had been using Crazy Colour's Lavender hair dye as a toner. This worked as long as I washed it out of my hair after 10-15 minutes. Any longer and my hair would be a shade of purple. It was time to bin my ratchet habits and do it the right way.

So after hours or research online and on youtube I found the toner that was going to do the trick. That toner being, Wella's Colour Charm in T18 Lightest Ash Blonde. I toned my hair about 2 weeks ago now.

I found youtube to be highly helpful in my quest for the right toner. It was so useful to see before and after videos of a person who used the product as it gave me and idea of what my hair would look like after it. It's important to mention that the end product will look different on everyone. If you have blue tinges in your blonde hair it might make your hair bluer etc.

Wella T18 is a cool toned toner. So expect cool toned hair.

Here's my video on the topic - Please excuse all the 'eeemms' and 'umms'! Such a horrible speech habit I didn't even realise I had until editing that video haha! More info bellow video with instructions.

For example: I used the whole bottle of toner and double the measurement of that in developer. Mix the two and apply to hair. Leave in your hair for no more than 30 minutes. Wash out! All the instructions are on the box too so be sure to read them!!

Apply the mixture to wet hair. I left the toner in my hair for 20 minutes as it started to get very grey very fast. I was a bit paranoid!

What I would do next time:

Firstly I would use half the measurement of the toner/developer mixture. The developer and toner mixture was too large so I had a bit of waste. I have long hair and I did not need to use the whole bottle of toner. Secondly I would leave the toner in my hair for the 30 minutes as it's even after fading already after 2 weeks so even if it was any bit grey it wouldn't last long until it was the ideal shade.

I'm delighted with how my hair turned out. I have used the Crazy Colour dye since the toning of my hair. I used it anytime I felt it was getting a bit golden in colour.

If you have any questions on the topic feel free to ask :)

Also, I really enjoyed making that video so if you enjoyed it also please let me know. I would be interested in implementing video footage into my blog posts!

I'm sure you've all seen it floating around the blogger-verse at some stage. Many of you, like myself, probably know very little about it. Leibster is a German word that means sweetheart, beloved,
darling, valued, kind.. etc. How sweet?! The purpose of this award is to allow smaller blogs with less than 200 followers to grow in the blogging community. I have been nominated for this award ever so kindly by Abiee Lucas. Thank you Abiee!

The Rules

Once nominated, make a post thanking and linking your nominator's blog.

Include the Liebster Award's sticker in the post as well (you can copy it from above).

Nominate 10 other new bloggers that have 200 or less followers who you think are worthy of this award and include their links in your post. Also, make sure that you let them know they've been nominated by commenting on one of their posts. You can nominate the person who nominated you.

Answer the 10 questions asked to you by your nominator (these questions should be on their post). And make 10 questions of your own for your nominees to answer.

Finally, copy these rules onto your post.

Abiee's Questions

1. If you could dress in head to toe in one designer brand what would it be?

Ohh this is tough! I don't wear much designer clothes. I usually stick to retail brands such as Zara, TopShop, H&M etc. In fact I don't think I own any high-fashion designer branded clothing. But if I was to choose one I'd go for rag & bone. I feel their style reflects my own. But if theres one thing I do know, my designer bag of choice would be a Simone Camille bag.

2. What is your go-to make-up look?

My go-to look would have to be dewy skin (using L'Oreal's Lumi Magique Primer, Rimmels Wake Me Up foundation and The Collection's fair concealer) with a sun kissed glow paired with a burnt orange/red eyeshadow look on my crease (Inglot's eyeshadow in 605 & 511 HD Sculpting Powder) and winged eyeliner. I'm not one for lipstick, so I usually line my lips with a very similar colour to my own lips (Inglot's Soft Precision Liner in 63) and add some Carmex on top to keep them hydrated and glossy.

3. How would you describe your style?

I would describe my style as indie-bohemian with some beachy hints haha. I like to wear black skinny jeans (sometimes with rips), baggy t-shirts with graphics/typography, jumpers.. But I do also like to wear well cut and designed items for example I adore a lot of Zara's clothing. The way they cut their clothing makes them almost look like their items are designer/high-fashion. They make basic t-shirts look stylish.

4. Your top 3 favourite films?

So many films!! Off the top of my head - Riding in Cars with Boys, Eat, Pray, Love & The Hunger Games. I love Drew Barrymore. Actually I love all the female leads in those films haha!

5. What animal would you be and why?

I would be a dolphin because it would be so great to be able to explore the ocean. I would be so majestic and I'd be able to jump out of the water if I got bored of looking at the ocean haha. Dolphins are loving mammals and build up relationships and have conversations just like humans do. So cute :O

6. Are you a dog or a cat person?

Dog person! Proud owner of a 4 year old Labrador cross Collie called Lottie. Never had a cat. I'm sure they are lovely animals, but I find dogs so much cuter. They are such interesting creatures and their personalities are just the bomb-diggity.

7. What are the best and worst things about blogging?

For me, the worst is keeping the rhythm going. Posting frequently to allow your readers to build up a relationship or trust with you. So they can expect a post from you and get excited for it. I find that really hard. But I guess that's just my style and I'm sure some people enjoy the unpredictable post. The best thing has to be connecting with so many awesome people. Meeting like minded individuals and reading their enjoyable content.

8. What is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you?

Nothing too embarrassing stands out, I like to think I keep it quite cool when something unexpected happens. My most recent embarrassing moment would probably be the Mocha Spillage Incident of 2014. I rocked up into college one fine Monday morning, with my hair nicely did and a nice comfy outfit on. Dying for my morning mocha (a tradition at this stage), I walked into the canteen to line up in the coffee shop queue. Got my mocha and as I walk out of the canteen I decide to take my first sip. The lid wasn't on properly so the mocha waterfall flowed all down my hair, top and jacket. My blonde hair was a shade of brown. No Joke. I ran to the bathroom leaving my mess on the floor and proceeded to wash my hair under the tap and dry it then under the hand dryer. I went back to clean up my embarrassing mess after fixing myself. My clothes were a chocolate brown shade for the day along with my matted hair.

9. Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

I'm an extrovert with introvert tendencies haha. I mean I enjoy my own company from time to time. Of course I love being with friends and going out having a good time too. But when I've had enough of people I like to have time to my self haha. A nice walk in the woods with my dog is fun. In saying that though, if my family are away and I've the house to myself it gets quite lonely after a day and I want everyone back haha! I like people there, but we don't have to talk.

10. What is your biggest future goal?

My biggest future goal from a young age was to design and build my own house. Architecturally and interior wise. But I would also really love to set up my own quirky cafe. A cafe with a twist (with another purpose to making coffee). I'm not sure yet but visually I've the interior design already visualised. I've made a Pinterest board an all for my inspiration.

My Questions
1. What was the last photo you took on your phone?
2. If you could be best friends with anyone in the world who would it be and why?
3. What have you found most rewarding about being a blogger?
4. Who is your celebrity style icon?
5. What was your favourite country you've been too? or your favourite holiday?
6. Whats your favourite place to visit in your local area and why?
7. What is your favourite music genre?
8. Any weird habits?
9. When you were little what did you want to be when you grew up?
10. Would you rather have lunch with Kim Kardashian or Barack Obama?

Thanks a million Abiee for the nomination! I had a lot of fun answering your questions and making up my own :D Good luck to those of you who I nominated, can't wait to see your answers and discover the up and coming blogs ye adore!